George City Council considers security agreement
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 4 months AGO
George Mayor Gerene Nelson addresses the meeting of the George City Council Tuesday. From left: Deputy Clerk Amy Grace, Nelson, City Attorney Chuck Zimmerman, Assistant City Attorney Kait Schilling and Council Member Kate Schooler.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | April 20, 2023 6:18 PM
GEORGE — The George City Council discussed, but did not decide on, a novel offer from the Port of Quincy at its monthly meeting Tuesday evening.
The proposal is an interlocal agreement between the city and the Port, said Mayor Gerene Nelson in a separate interview Thursday. Under the agreement, the Port would supply six hours a day of security service to the city, to stave off graffiti, petty theft and the like. The Port has started to offer security services to businesses within the port district, but this would be the first such agreement with a municipality.
“Nobody else has done that,” Nelson said. “So we're the guinea pigs, and that's part of my hesitancy. I need to make sure everything is carefully done.”
The issue is paying for it, explained City Attorney Chuck Zimmerman. The Port’s current proposal would cost $102,000 for the year, he said. The city has two funds that might be applicable to the service, but whether state law will allow them to be earmarked that way is in question. Nelson has been working with the state treasury department to ascertain the legality, she said.
“It's about specific earmarked government funds that come to the city,” Zimmerman said. “What can they be used for? Why did we get this revenue stream? And what is it tied to? And I'm not an expert on that.”
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the city currently has no clerk-treasurer. Nelson has only been in office since January, and the previous clerk-treasurer retired in August 2022 after more than 20 years of service, she said. The city is currently looking for a replacement, she added.
“Had we had a clerk-treasurer, we would just ask them, and they would have said, Yeah, this is what we got for these two accounts, and this is what they're tied to,” Zimmerman said.
The proposal was sent to the city April 13, so there hadn’t been much time to research the matter, Nelson said.
The council took care of two items of business at the meeting as well. The decision was made to hold future council meetings at the George Community Hall, and the funds from the city’s hotel and motel tax were disbursed. The George Community Hall received $15,000 for the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration and another $5,000 for the George Bluegrass Festival in September. Another $1,800 was awarded to the Georgettes civic service organization.
Joel Martin can be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
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Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.